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Fall is a sneaky little season that I consider an untamed beast. It’s hard to pack and predict the weather. Think about it. Winter is just plain cold. In spring the temperatures are cool. During summer you always know it’s going to be hot. But with Fall, you just don’t know.

This past weekend my good friend Michael and I went to the Fall Gathering at Quartz Mountain, a biannual gathering of Oklahoma rock climbers. This was a weekend for rock climbing and I thought I packed like a pro.

In just a day, I roasted and was desperate for just one more layer to keep from having chattering teeth. From sun-up to sun-down I felt like a lizard basking in the sun, or better yet one of the many rattlesnakes that call Quartz Mountain home. As soon as night fell I was singing a different tune.

I have been hitting the trail for quite sometime now and I was certain I packed the right gear.

After this past weekend I decided it was time to go straight to an expert for some solid outdoors advice. I headed to downtown Edmond’s newest outdoor retailer, Summit Company, and talked serious shop with owner John James, asking where did I go wrong?

James shared some expert advice: “The number one goal in most outdoor activities with regard to clothing is moisture management. Many people may not realize that their bodies are constantly releasing moisture and how you manage that moisture is vital to being comfortable on the short term and safe in the long term. At the core, that represents wearing a very good base layer and usually having a fresh base layer to change into before crawling into your bag.”

I was right in packing the layers I did, but I was wrong in how I used them. I had failed in drying out before I buried into my sleeping bag and therefore created a moisture-ridden bag. With my haste to be warm, I had set myself up to freeze.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is where my latest adventure took me, and it was an adventure, indeed. With floods, skunks, teepees, and of course, climbing, it was one for the record books.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, located in Jasper, Ark., is worth every bit of the 5-hour pilgrimage to get there. The drive through the winding back country takes you to the hidden treasure that is Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. Family owned by the Johnsons, Horseshoe Canyon Ranch has been up and operating as a guest ranch for the past ten years, with climbing introduced just 7 years ago by a then-passing-through Jason Roy. Roy came to the ranch to put up a few routes with friends, but just never left. At the time there were only 60 set routes, and it was unknown to the Johnsons that they were sitting on the newest hot spot of climbing.

With over 300 sport routes and a couple of hundred bouldering problems, this is has become the mecca to midwestern climbing. The ranch also offers accommodations ranging from log cabin stays with full service meals, to teepee living and, of course, primitive campsites. If you’re not savvy to climbing and looking to get started, hired guided services are available. Horseshoe notes that this is an ideal place to start leading climbing. There has been a boom at the ranch since entering the limelight in Dosage 3 and various magazines. With the constant stream of pros like Chris Sharma, Jason Kahl, Fred Nicole, Dave Graham and Katie Brown hitting Horseshoe, climbing has blown up and guests are coming from far and wide seeking the chance to climb the coveted sandstone that stretches as far as the eye can see.

Jason Roy, Adventure Activities Director and Head Climbing Guide, says, “the draw to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is the close proximity to camping and safely bolted moderates. It’s like luxury climbing, this rock is the best seen. Some of the best friction and the climbs are so diverse from slab, to cracks, steep overhangs, and massive erretts.” Lastly, my climbing friends and I climbed, saw, and at least tried to conquer what we coined the southern comfort to climbing, Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. Jason Roy put it best: “the cat’s definitely out of the bag to climbing in Arkansas”.

For more on Horseshoe Canyon Ranch visit www.gohcr.com.

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

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Rise and shine brought an end to the rain, but last night at 2:45am to be exact we had another skunk come in and visit! We are all still in our sleeping bags just fighting the freezing wet cold. All my gear is wet including my shoes, but I still believe tomorrow will be a day of climbing. Girl vs. Wild, Jacquelyn Farris

Today was a full day of bouldering the guys ran big problems that would boggle most minds V4’s were run throughout the ranch. We were definately the group to beat. This is a serious group of climbers. The rain should be rolling in soon so we are hunkering down in our teepee. Until tomorrow I am Girl vs. Wild, Jacquelyn Farris

In exactly one day and counting I will hit the road and embark on what will be a serious climbing adventure. I am headed out to climb with big boys at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Jasper Arkansas. Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is located in Jasper Arkansas with 350 acres on the ranch and 160 adjacent and all climbable so I am sure to find a few routes top. It is called “the new climbing hot spot of the midwest” with 300 plus routes set on the ranch and a majority of them sport, and a couple hundred bouldering problems there should be enough to boggle my climbing mind for a few days. The routes range in class from 5.0-5.14a, and the hardest route is “Prophet” which climbing genious Chris Sharma set the first ascent. This is an ideal place to start climbing, and especially to start lead climbing. My good friend Michael Morley just called and told me “I will lead my first route at Horseshoe”, this means its on! Dear climbing gods, please part the skies and shine your favor on me and the gang. We are ready to climb on.

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

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